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Taxi driver is sought
Police have launched a fresh appeal to try to catch a taxi driver who raped a teenager and a woman in separate attacks two years ago.
The first assault happened on Friday, November 30, 2007 between 10.30pm and 11.30pm, when a 15-year-old girl from Dunstable was out with friends and had accepted a lift from a taxi driver in Summerleys, Edlesborough.
She got into the taxi believing she was going to be taken to a friend's home, but the driver took her to the picnic area at Totternhoe Knolls, where he raped her before driving her back to Edlesborough.
The second assault happened during the early hours of Saturday, December 15, 2007, when a 22-year-old woman and a man got into a taxi outside the Cubes nightspot in Dunstable.
The other passenger got out of the taxi in the Stopsley area of Luton, and the victim asked to be taken home to the Lewsey Farm area.
But the driver took her to an unknown location and raped her before driving to Lewsey Farm and leaving her there.
The rapist is described as a man of Asian appearance, aged between 20 and 40, with short, dark hair. He was driving a black Hackney carriage-style vehicle.
Detectives believe that the two assaults were linked.
On January 25 last year, taxi drivers from the Luton and Dunstable area supplied DNA samples which allowed officers to eliminate them from the investigation.
Det Chief Insp Melanie Burn said: "It is two years since these offences took place and this investigation is still very much on-going and is regularly reviewed to identify new leads."
She added: "I would like to make a fresh appeal to a man who has a bald head and is in his 40s who got out of the taxi in Summerleys on Friday, November 30, 2007, before the victim got into it.
"It is important to this investigation that this man comes forward and speaks to the police - he is not in any trouble but he could still hold vital information relating to the identity of the taxi driver and where he got into the taxi.
"Secondly, I would like to appeal to members of the public and the taxi driving community to think back and let us know if they knew someone who was working as a taxi driver at the time but who has since left the area.
"It may be that the person was working illegally, or they may have noticed that this person was acting suspiciously and left the area in a hurry at around the time of the offences.
"The information you have may not seem important, but it could be just the information we need to identify who is responsible for these horrendous crimes."
Police would stress that only one individual is responsible for these attacks, and using a taxi service is still a safe way to get home after a night out.
But the public should take these extra precautions - stay with your friends and try not to travel alone; if out drinking alcohol, know your limits and do not drink too much; and always use a pre-booked private hire car from a known company or a fully licensed taxi.
To be extra safe, women may wish to text the registration number of the taxi to a relative or friend.
Anyone with information about these assaults is urged to contact the Beds and Herts major crime team, in confidence, on 01707 355666, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin
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